Decision Trees

on policy proposals. To win this vote, Moses selected the spies and the Intelligence Cycle began. We have a rather specific account* of what happened next:

TASKING

Get you up this way southward,

and go up into the mountain:

And see the land, what it is;

And the people that dwelleth therein,

whether they be strong or weak,

few or many;

And what the land is that they dwell in,

Whether it be good or bad;

And what cities they be that they dwell in,

whether in tents,

or in strongholds;

And what the land is,

whether it be fat or lean,

whether there be wood in it or not.

And be ye of good courage,

And bring of the fruit of the land.

Note that good tasking is succinct and unambiguous. Note also that although the Promised Land was to the north, Moses first had the spies go south up the mountain for a birds-eye view (overhead collection) of whether the Promised Land was worth the effort. This instruction produced the most yield at the least risk for his 12 valued leaders. Having satisfied the basic question of the land's overall worth, the spies came down and entered Canaan.

COLLECTION

Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

So they went up, and searched the land

from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob,

as men come to Hameth.**

And they ascended by the south,

and came unto Hebron;

where A-himan, Sheshai, and Tu1mai,***

the children of ANAK, were. . .

And they came unto the brook of Eshcol,

and cut down from thence a branch

with one cluster of grapes,

and they bare it between two upon a staff;

_______

*The Bible, (King James Version), Numbers 13:1-33. In the following passages I have made no changes in sequence, context or phrasing, but I have used indentation to emphasize contextual order, and have inserted the appropriate Intelligence Cycle headings.

**A storehouse city of later Israel. The connotation is that of a hungry traveler chancing upon a supermarket offering free wares.

***I have put Anak's name in capitals and his three sons' in italics for emphasis-the reason will become apparent shortly.